To Him Be the Glory!!!
‘Bagi Dialah, yang dapat melakukan jauh lebih banyak dari pada yang kita doakan atau pikirkan, seperti yang ternyata dari kuasa yang berkerja di dalam kita, bagi Dialah kemuliaan’. “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. To Him be glory!â€Â Eph 3: 20-21Â
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Wow.. this verse explains the past month so well! And is the theme of this email…
Many times this month I would just look around me and see all the amazing things happening.. more than what I had ever asked for.. more than I ever could have imagined..that’s what He does!!
One of those times was on ‘Idul Fitri’. The biggest Muslim celebration of the year. I was walking house to house with the Muslim family I was staying with. There I was, the only white girl to enter that village, walking among the family, all in their finest Muslim attire, going from house to house doing the Muslim traditions on the Muslim Holiday.. and I was walking arm in arm sharing the gospel with them!! I had never imagine this could be possible..but what He can do through us is so far from what we could even think of! Incredible!
I spent 10 days living with 2 Muslim families in the island of Jawa. It was the 1st time I have ever done anything like this.. it was unforgettable, a real adventure, and a great start to what I believe will be me learning how to be as close as family to the beautiful Muslim people here.
My two close friends here are both from Muslim families in Jawa. Their families have not accepted them since they became a Christian. It was truly amazing how God has worked in their families! Not only did the families welcome us but many of them were open to hear the gospel! Some of them chose to believe the truth about Isa (Jesus)! What a miracle!! Thank you so much.. I know you were praying for us!!
Being the first ‘bule’ (white person) in the village is also a whole adventure on it’s own! The simple things become an adventure.. like taking a shower. 1st you haul up the water from the well.. and then as you’re showering the chickens come in (because that’s where their cage is) and shower with you! And they can do that because there’s no door! Hahaha..We also all slept on the floor together. Which was a lot of fun, but not a lot of sleep! One morning I ‘slept in’ and one of the nieces came running in.. yelling “kak susan.. wake up.. it’s already afternoon!†I felt horrible everyone was already up and dressed ready to go to the mosque.. then I looked at the time.. 5:30am.
At the beginning of the month we started a new weekly ministry in Bandar Baru (the prostitution village). I expected that the 1st week there would just be a few people.. but once again God did more than I ever thought of.. When we got there the house was full.. over 25 people! And the neighbors crowded around the doors and windows to see in!
Every week there is a real wonder there! The 1st week one of the prostitutes came running in and hugged me crying on my shoulder.. she was just so happy that I had come back. The next week she had us all go to her field (where she is working now) and ate chicken together! It was such a great time! (pitures below!) Also one of the family members had a stroke years ago and never fully recovered.. after we prayed he began to move his legs.. minutes later he looked down and realized his hand was straight for the 1st time.. he just stared in wonder at it and started to cry… Oh Jesus is sooo good!
There are so many stories I could share.. all the amazing things that have happened this month.. wow.. all that I asked for.. and more!!!
I also had the joy of working on a Festival with Pastor Peter Youngren in the city of Surabaya. It is a joy beyond words to see1,000’s of people hear the good news and receive Jesus into their lives! And the miracles that take place are amazing.. there are so many that really touched me. I’ll just share one. The last night of the festival I saw a beautiful Muslim woman standing near the front. She stood out because she was dressed so beautifully. After praying I was searching for those who had been healed so they could come up and testify. I noticed this woman, her name is Ibu Ida, rubbing her stomach and I saw she was crying. Even though I was rushing by I paused for a moment to lay my hand on her stomach and thank Jesus. I could feel her stomach shrinking beneath my hand. I then continued what I was doing. But when they asked those who had been healed to come up to the front I saw Ibu Ida come up with a joyous, tearstained face.. and she came up and hugged me. It was so beautiful to see her go up on the stage to testify knowing it was because Jesus had touched her!
Being in Indonesia and experiencing all of these things is just so amazing.. it just proves this verse. It is more than I ever thought of, asked for and imagined. It is all Jesus!!!!
Jesus working in our lives.. it’s amazing!! There are no limits to what His power can do through us! Just think about what we can do for the nation of Indonesia… It can be even greater than that! Because He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think! To Him be the glory!Â
Susan Joy
And thanks to Pastor Ron and my friends at Bridgeway Community Church you can now enjoy all of these updates and more at www.susanhoover.org !
And before the pictures.. just one funny story.. my embarrassing moment of the month! I was traveling with Gola and Padmini coming back from Samosir Island.. 2 buses were racing down the winding roads and one cut us off.. hitting our front end.. after some tipping action and me and padmini screaming “Jeeeeessssuuuuuus†we were all ok. But during all the excitement the top of Gola’s water bottle came off. And it ran all over our seat.. soaking the 3 of us! So when we climbed out of the bus all 3 of our pants were wet! We really looked like it had scared us beyond what our bladders could handle! Hehehe..